The First Anniversary of the Protect the Protest Task Force Launch

One year ago thismonth, 25 social justice, environmental, and civil liberties organizationsjoined forces to form the Protect the Protest task force to combat the threatof Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs) and to lessen thedestruction of this legal bullying tactic. We’ve had a year of importantsuccesses, secured through the expertise and collective power of Protect theProtest’s membership, organizations big and small committed to upholding therights of free speech and assembly. Still, the SLAPP threat remains, and willrequire creative advocacy, the stigmatization of SLAPP filers, and ultimatelythe strengthening of the legal architecture to ensure that courts are notco-opted as a tool of those who seek to silence protected speech.

SLAPPs are a tacticused by powerful interests in which the courts are used for retaliation ratherthan justice and to raise fear rather than real issues. For decades, powerfulactors have filed these meritless lawsuits, knowing they can’t win, but thatdoesn’t matter to them. Redressing a harm or collecting damages is not thepoint of a SLAPP lawsuit; the point is to intimidate and silence activists,organizers, and others who speak out, tying them up in costly and stressfullitigation that has no legitimate basis. SLAPPs masquerade as legitimate civil lawsuitsbut are an abuse of the court system and a threat to democracy. Whencorporations use the judicial system as their weapon, both the rule of law andpeople suffer. 

Democracy dependson those who are willing to speak truth to power. That is precisely whatProtect the Protest has done in its first year, and we’re just getting started.

MAJOR VICTORIES

Activists and free speech supporters show their support outside US District Courthouse in San Francisco. The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California holds a hearing to decide whether or not to dismiss Resolute Forest Products' baseless racketeering lawsuit against three Greenpeace entities, Stand.earth, and five individual staff members of these independent organizations after the hearing on an amended complaint.

We took on RICO and won. Twice. During its inaugural year, Protect theProtest lawyers earned an early victory when they defeated one of the country’sbiggest SLAPP threats: the use of the Racketeer Influenced and CorruptOrganizations (RICO) Act in SLAPP suits. The law firm of Kasowitz, Benson &Torres had attempted to use the RICO Act to equate environmental and socialjustice activism to mafia-like racketeering. Protect the Protest succeeded ingetting RICO claims dismissed in two cases, one brought by Resolute Forest Products and the other brought by Energy Transfer Partners (ETP), thecompany behind the Dakota Access Pipeline. In the ETP case, thejudge issued a stinging dismissal of the lawsuit saying that ETP’sinterpretation of RICO was “dangerously broad,” and that the law cannot be usedto connect public criticism to remote criminal activities; using RICO in thisway could “curtail almost any disagreeable, arguably protected speech.” Thisvictory is evidence that Protect the Protest is not only able to win thesecases but have judicial and legal backing in the strongest terms.

We Helped Build Community Resilience to SLAPPs. In March 2019,Protect theProtest published the An ActivistGuide: Reducing Exposure to SLAPP Lawsuits, which describes thetelltale signs of a SLAPP, how to protect yourself from being SLAPPed, and whatto do if you are SLAPPed. Since that time, we have shared the guide on ourwebsite and social media numerous times and have used it to assist in trainingsfor those at risk of being SLAPPed, as well as those representing SLAPPvictims.

We Took Up the Fight for Federal Anti-SLAPP Legislation. Over the last year, members of Protect the Protest have engaged with congressional offices and other non-governmental organizations to develop federal anti-SLAPP legislation. The passage of sound federal legislation on this topic would aide those who find themselves in federal court facing SLAPPs and would build on the work done by the 29 states that have passed anti-SLAPP laws.

ONGOING WORK & SERVICES

Individual activists and advocacy groups threatened by SLAPPs (strategic lawsuit against public participation), rally against corporate bullies like the Kasowitz Benson Torres law firm and stand up for our First Amendment rights. This New York-based firm has been hired by logging giants and oil pipeline companies to sue advocacy organizations like Greenpeace — as well as dozens of individual climate activists.

Despite these bigwins, the SLAPP threat has not diminished. We still see SLAPPs being used bycorporations and powerful individuals to silence sexual assault and harassmentvictims, racial justice activists, and environmental defenders, just to name afew. This is why Protect the Protest exists, and we’re here to help. Our taskforce offers a range of communications, campaigns, and legal assistance,including:

• In-person or online trainings for thoselooking to lessen their SLAPP risk and pre-publication review of campaign andcommunications materials, as well as advice on campaign and communicationsstrategy;
• Connection with local legal counsel, advice onhow to safely continue to speak out against powerful interests, diminishing thethreat’s effectiveness, and amplification of your SLAPP story using ourcollective communications and campaigning power;
• Legal assistance in getting the SLAPPdismissed from court as quickly as possible to ensure that it is not successfulin shutting down your speech.

LOOKING FORWARD

Protect the Protestis proud of what we’ve built and what we have accomplished, and we have setlofty and necessary goals for the next year. Our RICO successes were a crucialwin for protecting the rights to free speech and organizing, but they haven’tstopped the disingenuous tactics being used to silence dissent. That’s why we’reworking with the broader movement to protect protest and dissent on relatedissues, such as the uptick in critical infrastructure legislation and freespeech on campus legislation, as well as the use of forced arbitration clausesand non-disclosure agreements.

JOIN US

Help us showcorporate bullies that an attack on one of us, is an attack on all of us! If you like what you’re reading, there is room for you in this fight.Below are a few ways that you can get involved.

• Membership: Protect the Protest is always looking for additional social justice,human rights, civil rights, and environmental justice organizations and movementsto join the fight against corporate legal bullying. Submit a membershipinterest form here.
• Lawyers: We’re also looking to build a nationwide network of lawyers committedto defending SLAPPs in their states. If you’re a practicing attorney and you’reinterested in joining our referral network, please reach out to info@protecttheprotest.org for more information.

Our democracy isonly as strong as our ability to tell the truth and work together. SLAPPs andrelated legal bullying threaten our values and our ability to insist on asociety that lives up to them.  As longas bullies use the court system to silence dissent, Protect the Protest willhave your back.

Thank you forjoining us in this fight. Onward to the next year.